VOA标准英语2012--Africa Policy Watchers Lose Hope in President Obama

Africa Policy Watchers Lose Hope in President Obama

While walking onto the House floor to deliver his recent 2012 State of the Union speech, President Obama told U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Leon Panetta "great job tonight."
It was later explained the comment referred to a late night U.S. military raid into Somalia to free two hostages including an American aid worker.
But Obama's actual speech made no mention of sub-Saharan Africa whatsoever².
Kwaku Nuamah, a Ghanaian professor at American University in Washington, is not surprised.
"Africa is not big in Washington, there is no constituency that cares about Africa that much," said Nuamah. "I did not think the traditional contours of American foreign policy were going to change because there was somebody in the White House with ties to Africa, but of course a lot of people expected that."
Since making a speech in Ghana in 2009 about how the United States would hold African leaders accountable to good governance and respecting democratic institutions, President Obama has not returned to the continent.
Emira Woods from Washington-based Foreign Policy in Focus says actual change though is more important than visits and speeches.
"Wonderful words, but very much unfulfilled," said Woods. "Those words have to be lived in terms of U.S. foreign policy and we are still waiting for them to be realized."
Woods says she feels too much attention is placed on U.S. military aid in resource rich countries, without regard to a government's record or how elections are conducted.
This includes help for Nigeria's embattled government to eliminate Islamic extremists, and assistance in autocratic-run east and central African countries to squash the roving Lord's Resistance Army.
Patrick Mubobo, a Congolese American recently protesting in front of the White House, is one of those bitterly disappointed, after the U.S. government did little following flawed 2011 elections in his native mineral-rich and heavily U.S.-assisted Democratic Republic of Congo.
"We want to tell him it is over if he does not do the right thing for Congo, for children who are crying and dying if he does not do the right thing for democracy, he can count that he has not only lost my vote, but he has lost a lot of votes," said Mubobo.
Congolese Americans at this recent protest said they had campaigned vigorously for Obama in 2008 and even rallied for his health care legislation, but that now they felt disillusioned³ with the way the U.S. government was dealing⁴ with Africa and Africans.
U.S. officials point to recent successes in Africa, such as helping⁵ diplomatically as South Sudan became a new country last year, giving assistance to millions of victims to overcome drought in the Horn of Africa, and pursuing major health initiatives to fight AIDS and other diseases.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

3 disillusioned   

a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的

参考例句：

• I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
• Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。